The present invention relates to the art of gun or firearm safety. It finds particular application in conjunction with barrel locks or plugs, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention is also amenable to other like applications.
Firearm safety is a concern for most gun owners. In general, gun owners desire a way to secure their firearms from unauthorized use and/or accidental discharge. Accordingly, devices have been developed to achieve this goal. However, many of the prior art devices suffer from various drawbacks and/or limitations.
For example, trigger locks have been developed which when properly installed on a gun prevent an unauthorized user from squeezing the gun""s trigger. While these trigger locks may prevent a gun""s firing mechanism from being intentionally activated, trigger locks generally do not prevent a gun from being loaded. Accordingly, a live round can still be positioned in the firing chamber and a sudden jarring of the gun and/or faulty ammunition can potentially result in the accidental discharge of the weapon.
Another safety device for securing firearms is the so called barrel plug which is designed to wedge in and/or otherwise obstruct the gun""s barrel. The previously developed barrel plugs also have drawbacks and/or limitation. Many of the prior art barrel plugs cannot easily and quickly be installed and removed. Others are not sufficiently tamper resistant and/or secure. That is to say, the security of some prior art barrel plugs can be frustrated with relative ease by an unauthorized user, e.g., pulling or pushing or otherwise removing the plug from the barrel. Furthermore, prior art barrel plugs tend to be of limited use insomuch as each only fits one preset caliber or bore size.
While obstructing the barrel, often barrel plugs do not prevent loading of the firearm. This is particularly hazardous when the barrel plug is completely hidden within the barrel. For example, a unsuspecting user, not knowing the barrel plug is installed and not seeing any external evidence of its installation, may load and attempt to fire the gun. Of course, the gun will potentially backfire or otherwise injure the user and/or damage either the firearm or the barrel plug or both.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved gun barrel safety lock with hand ratcheting wrench which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a gun safety device is provided. It includes a barrel plug assembly which is installed in a barrel of a gun. The barrel plug assembly has an expansion tube, a pair of compression members and a joining member. The expansion tube applies a force radially outward when compressed longitudinally. The pair of compression members are arranged at opposite ends of the expansion tube and are rotationally fixed with respect to one another. The joining member operatively links the compression members together and selectively draws them together to longitudinally compress the expansion tube therebetween. The gun safety device also includes a wrench assembly which is selectively attachable and mated to the barrel plug assembly. The wrench assembly operates the joining member.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for securing a gun against unauthorized use includes plug means installed in a barrel of the gun to be secured, and operating means for selectively effecting the installation and removal of the plug means. The operating means are selectively attachable and mated to the plug means. The plug means include: wedge means for selective wedging the plug means in the barrel; compression means for activating the wedge means when the compression means apply a compressive force to the wedge means; control means for controlling the compressive force applied to the wedge means by the compression means; and, sizing means for selectively varying a size of the plug means such that it will fit different barrel bore sizes.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for securing a gun against unauthorized uses further includes: blocking means for substantially blocking a firing chamber of the gun in which the apparatus is installed so that loading of the gun is guarded against, the blocking means being selectively attachable to the plug means.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for securing a gun against unauthorized uses further includes: warning means for providing a visual indicator that the plug means are installed in the barrel.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus for securing a gun against unauthorized uses further includes: limiting means for limiting an amount of torque that the operating means can apply to the control means.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the operating means of the apparatus for securing a gun against unauthorized uses further includes: locking means for selectively locking the operating means in a enabled configuration and a disabled configuration, the operating means being able to operate the control means when in the enabled configuration and being unable to operate the control means when in the disabled configuration.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a method of securing a gun against unauthorized use includes inserting a plug assembly into a barrel of the gun. The plug assembly has a resilient member positioned between two compression members joined by a threaded member having a keyed head which is recessed in one of the compression members. The method further includes attaching a wrench assembly to the plug assembly, and extending a socket from the wrench assembly so as to engage the socket with the keyed head recessed in one of the compression members. Holding the two compression members rotationally fixed, a series of alternating clockwise and counterclockwise strokes are applied to the wrench assembly to thereby rotate the threaded member in one direction and urge the two compression members toward one another such that they apply a compressive force to the resilient member therebetween. The resilient member responds to the compressive force by applying a radially outward force which wedges the plug assembly in the barrel.
One advantage of the present invention is that is secures a firearm against unauthorized use.
Another advantage of the present invention is the easy and speed with which the barrel plug assembly may be selectively installed and removed from the barrel of a firearm.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it is readily adaptable for use with any bore size or barrel configuration.
Another advantage of the present invention is that provides visual confirmation that the barrel plug assembly is installed.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that guards against not only the discharge, but also the loading, of the secured firearm.
Still further advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.